Short Break Stories

Crossroads Lewis Short Breaks

A story by Crossroads (Lewis) Care Attendant Scheme Ltd

Crossroads Lewis’ Short Breaks provide a carer with breaks of up to 3 nights/4 days, while our Care Attendant team provide 24 hour care at home for the cared-for. This lessens the disruption to the cared-for person’s routine, and is particularly beneficial to those with dementia. Crossroads Lewis takes over the role of the carer, to meet all the needs of the cared-for eg personal care, medication and meals.

What Crossroads Lewis Short Breaks did

We have delivered sixteen full 3 night/4 day breaks to eleven carers and a further seven carers have benefited from sixteen extended day hours for those unable to be away overnight. Our service was well-publicised through local medical practices, carer forums, our own Carers' Day and through the Social Department.

None of the carers who received our Short Breaks were able to use statutory residential respite and this was their only extended break from their caring role, that they will have had throughout the year. Many of them chose to visit family on the mainland, meet up with friends, go to concerts or attend weddings that they would have be unable to do so without the Short Breaks' service.

An elderly couple, wife is full-time carer for husband there is no family locally able to provide support and no input from statutory services.

Husband has dementia and is unable to be left alone for longer than half an hour. The couple had not received any support from Crossroads Lewis before the break and were unsure how having support from a service would work.

Wife caring for husband with long-term disability with no input from statutory services, a lack of choice for residential respite for those who are younger means it is not appropriate for him.

They do not receive any regular weekly respite from any organisation, but instead the carer's needs are better met by the extended Short Break Service from Crossroads Lewis.
Elderly couple the husband is full-time carer for his wife and most of their family live on the mainland. Wife is frail and has advanced dementia, she needs assistance with all aspects of daily living and cannot be left alone. Residential respite is unsuitable for her so this service enabled her to stay at home and her husband was able to go to mainland to be with family.

What Crossroads (Lewis) Care Attendant Scheme Ltd has learned

Our Shorts Breaks have become fully integrated into our wider service and we are now associated with home-based respite. It is a valued part of our service and the feedback we receive is excellent, from both carers and their cared-for.

It has raised our profile locally and we have been able to support people who do not need any other services from us, and who are new to our organisation. We have achieved this by publicising the service well, word-of-mouth from those who have used our service before, and from offering extended day time respite to those who were unsure about taking an initial full break.
Top tips Crossroads (Lewis) Care Attendant Scheme Ltd's top tips for an organisation that wants to run a similar project
Tip 1:
Nothing is too much trouble, be flexible to the needs of carers and cared-for to put them at ease.
Tip 2:
Gain as much information as possible from the carer and cared-for about their needs during the break and put together a comprehensive personal plan so there is nothing your care staff will not be fully confident with.
Tip 3:
Be fair with who receives your breaks, we have allocated them to those with the highest need for respite and have not offered purely on a first-come basis.

"How refreshing to meet other people with similar experiences and be able to talk so freely knowing they could understand your worries and concerns"

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Short Break Stories is a site by Shared Care Scotland, a company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland SC161033.

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